From a young age, Dave Grohl knew what was going to be important in his life. No doubt, music was his raison d’être. So much so that it is music that has occupied the main place in his life. From Nirvana to the Foo Fighters, the famous drummer became a singer, guitarist and songwriter. In his autobiography, All my storythe one who says he is obsessed with music tells his frank story, from his humble beginnings to his glory days, passing through tragic moments.
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No question for Dave Grohl to let someone else write his own story. “It would probably have been too easy,” suggests the famous drummer. And then, the pandemic was the perfect time for him to roll up his sleeves by tackling this project that he had been simmering for a few years already. A colossal job that did not scare him; following all, Ohio native Dave Grohl worked hard all his life, tirelessly, giving himself no respite for years. This is what emerges from his autobiography The Storyteller, published in its original version last year and which has recently become available in French. His whole story is imbued with humility with a nice dose of madness and a touch of humor, which allowed him to get through the difficult times that have dotted his career. His first hard blow will come at the age of 6 when his parents divorce. He will then go to live with his mother in Virginia.
Lover of music, certainly, but also in love with words, choosing those that make him vibrate, those that resemble him. This is what he does, when the 53-year-old musician writes his own songs.
Shadow and light
A former punk scum from Washington, that’s how he often describes himself in his book. It’s because he hasn’t forgotten his less glorious past or his modest beginnings playing for fun in front of young people in arenas. Aware that the role of drummer is a secondary position, a worker in the shadows which is not glorious, rather leaving the place of choice to the singers who find themselves in the spotlight; but, for him, who was not looking for glory, simply wishing to live his passion to the fullest, it didn’t matter. Yet that’s how he described his first career when his daughter, Harper Willow, who was just 8, expressed an interest in playing the drums. Which made him smile, recognizing himself in her.
Dave Grohl started with Screan at the age of 17, leaving his studies to tour punk, as he calls it. He played for fun without really having any expectations, until he received a call to join the group Nirvana as drummer in the early 1990s. Faithful to his group since its beginnings, he preferred to decline the offer, but his mother Virginia insists and pushes him to join the group in Seattle. He will participate in the composition of the hit album Nevermind, one of the best-selling albums in the world with 30 million copies. Never had the drummer anticipated such success.
It will know the glory, the crowded stadiums, the euphoria of the fans, but there will also be the death of Kurt Cobain, the singer, guitarist and founder of Nirvana, who committed suicide in full glory by shooting himself in the head. It will then be the end for Nirvana in 1994.
“It’s difficult to get out of such a situation unscathed,” admits the author, who adds that such great glory can easily destabilize.
A second wind
After the collapse of the group and an episode of depression, Dave Grohl, far from wanting to stop, will found the group Foo Fighters.
He will experience several successes and some setbacks as well, notably in 2015, during a concert in Sweden. He will fall from the top of the stage at the start of the show and as a result, he will break his leg. In front of a wild crowd, he wishes, with his usual determination, to continue his show. He will come back on stage, with a crutch, then, seated on a chair, he will manage to finish his performance before going to the hospital, where he will undergo an operation.
In his book, Dave Grohl also recounts great moments, including the chance to rub shoulders with the greatest like Paul McCartney, David Bowie and Mick Jagger, and even to work with them.
Along with his career as an artist, we also learn the importance he places on his loved ones, in particular his three daughters, as well as his mother Virginia and his second wife Jordyn Blum. It was its pillars that kept it from collapsing.
In 2011, Dave Grohl received the NME Godlike Genius Award. He is the first American drummer to receive this award, which recognizes the best musicians in the world.
Dave Grohl
All my story
HarperCollins Publishing
384 pages
